London to Gibraltar 1812. A single sheet letter addressed to His Excellency Lieutenant General Campbell, Governor of Gibraltar, from John Julius Angerstein acting as secretary for some Committee for Orphan Relief and sent through the regular post with a red FOREIGN despatch mark but no other markings. The letter is in very poor condition: I make the guess that it may have been passed on at the time to one of the persons referred to in the letter and carried around rather than filed.
In relation to the letter's contents, Mr Keeling appears to have been a
Gibraltar merchant of Scottish descent best known for issuing copper coins for
local use; in Robert Keeling's Last Will and Testament he mentions his longtime
friendship to George Allardyce. Mr Allerdyce (alternative spelling) appears in 1804 as a member of the Committee for the preservation of Public
Health in Gibraltar set up during a Yellow Fever epidemic. Both are plausible candidates for
taking an interest in the fate of Peninsular War orphans.
John Julius Angerstein is a
significant and controversial figure: his collection of paintings formed the
basis of the National Gallery’s collection and in the recent past much research
has been conducted, both by the National Gallery and by Lloyd's of London, to ascertain to what degree his wealth derived from direct
or indirect involvement with the slave trade.
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London 26th
October 1812
Dear Sir
I had the
Honor to receive your Excellencys Letter of [blank space ] with its enclosure.
A committee
of subscribers met lately; your Letter and Mr Keeling’s of the 5th
of March last were read as were the Papers of which I enclose Copies. It
appeared to the Committee that the names of only two of the twelve children in
the list furnished by Mr Keeling are to be found in the list of Orphans in the
Asylum on the 26th of May 1805, Viz. Peter Yeoman and James Yeoman,
Mr Keeling’s being a list of Protestant Orphans only. It also appeared from the
list of Subscribers at Gibraltar (No. 2) and the list of Subscribers in London
that the contribution [? Should be Contributors] to the support of the
Orphans were of different religious persuasions from which circumstance the
Committee concluded that the Subscriptions were intended for the support of the
Orphans in general without any distinction with respect to religion.
The
Committee was therefore of opinion, that that it would not be right to confine
the Benefit of the Subscription to the Orphan children of Protestant Parents
only but in order to afford relief to those Orphans Resolved that the Sum of
Five Hundred Pounds be issued for their support and that Your Excellency be
requested to desire Mr Allerdyce or if not still in Gibraltar some other Person
to furnish me with the best Account he can of the nineteen Orphans not included
in Mr Keeling’s List; to inform me whether they are in Want of support and in
what manner such support can be afforded to them.
I have to
request that Your Excellency will be pleased to draw yourself, or to direct Mr
Keeling to draw upon me for five hundred Pounds at sixty days Sight, advising
me by Letter of such Draft.
The
Committee have Met with Objects which they have relieved here.
I have the
Honor to be/ Your Excellencys/ Very faithfull …….[presumably Serv't] J J Angerstein
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